 |
InspectAPedia® |
InspectAPedia
|
Free Encyclopedia of Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, Repair | Ask a Question or Search InspectAPedia |
 Mobile ViewSTRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS ADVANCED INSPECTION METHODS AGE of a BUILDING - how to determine ARCHITECTURE & BUILDING COMPONENT ID BARK SIDE DOWN on DECKS, TRIM, STEPS BASEMENT WATERPROOFING BEST CONSTRUCTION PRACTICES GUIDE BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS BRICK STRUCTURAL WALLS Loose, Bulged Brick Veneer Walls vs Structural Brick Structural BrickConstruction Structural Brick Wall Bond Courses Structural Brick Walls Bulged Bowed Collapse Water & Frost Damage to Brick Water, Frost, & Rust Damage at Steel Lintels Masonry & Brownstone Lintel Damage Repair of Brick Walls on Buildings Tuckpointing Brick Brick Thermal Expansion Cracking BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged Brick Veneer Walls ve Structural Brick Brick Veneer Wall Construction Brick Veneers, Thin, & Engineered Brick Wall Panels Cracks & Movement in Veneer Walls Cracks, Brick Veneer Diagnosis Bulged, Bowed Brick Veneer Walls BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES Weep Holes in Brick Walls Brick Veneer Walls with No Drains Brick Wall Weep Hole Location Brick Wall Drainage, Flashing & Ventilation Products Brick Veneer Wall Through-Ventilation BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? BUILDING SAFETY HAZARDS GUIDE BUILDING SETTLEMENT CHIMNEY CHASE Construction & Defects CHIMNEY INSPECTION DIAGNOSIS REPAIR COLUMNS & POSTS, DEFECTS CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS, PRE-CAST Cracks, Checking or Splitting Beams & Log Homes CRAWL SPACES DECK & PORCH CONSTRUCTION Deck Construction Best Practices DECK COLLAPSE Case Study DECK FINISHES COATINGS PRESERVATIVES DECK FLASHING LEAKS, ROT Case Study DECKS, ROOFTOP CONSTRUCTION DEBRIS STAINING on ROOFS DEFINITIONS of Mobile Home, Doublewide, Modular, Panelized DEFINITIONS of ENGINEERED WOOD OSB LVL etc DEW POINT CALCULATION for WALLS DEW POINT TABLE - CONDENSATION POINT GUIDE DISASTER BUILDING INSPECTION & REPAIR SAFEY EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS ENGINEERED WOOD Flooring ENGINEERED WOOD Products FIRE DAMAGE vs MOLD DAMAGE FLOOD DAMAGE ASSESSMENT, SAFETY & CLEANUP FLOODS IN BUILDINGS-mold FLOOR, ENGINEERED WOOD & LAMINATES FLOOR FRAMING & SUBFLOOR for TILE FLOOR TYPES & DEFECTS FLOOR TILE ASBESTOS IDENTIFICATION FLOOR TILE HISTORY & INGREDIENTS FOOTING & FOUNDATION DRAINS FOOTINGS EXPOSED, Repair Methods FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION TYPES FOUNDATION CONTRACTORS, ENGINEERS FOOTING & FOUNDATION DRAINS FOOTINGS EXPOSED, Repair Methods FOUNDATION CRACKS & DAMAGE GUIDE BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? CRAWL SPACES EARTHQUAKE DAMAGED FOUNDATIONS FOUNDATION CONSTRUCTION TYPES FOUNDATION INSPECTION METHODS FOUNDATION FAILURES by TYPE & MATERIAL FOUNDATION FAILURES by MOVEMENT TYPE FLOOD DAMAGE TO FOUNDATIONS FOUNDATION DEFECTS OF OMISSION FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION CRACK MONITORING Methods DIAGONAL FOUNDATION CRACKS HORIZONTAL FOUNDATION CRACKS SHRINKAGE vs EXPANSION vs SETTLEMENT Sinkholes & Building Damage Thermal Expansion Cracking of Brick VERTICAL FOUNDATION CRACKS FOUNDATION BULGE or LEAN MEASUREMENTS FOUNDATION DAMAGE REPORTS FOUNDATION DAMAGE SEVERITY FOUNDATION INSPECTION STANDARDS FOUNDATION MOVEMENT ACTIVE vs. STATIC FOUNDATION REPAIR METHODS PIER or PILE FOUNDATIONS SITE FACTORS AFFECTING FOUNDATIONS SLAB CRACK EVALUATION SLAB CRACK REPAIR FOUNDATION DEFECTS OF OMISSION - MISSING FOUNDATION FAILURES by TYPE & MATERIAL BLOCK FOUNDATION & WALL DEFECTS BRICK FOUNDATION & WALL DEFECTS Brick Thermal Expansion Cracking BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged CONCRETE FOUNDATION, WALL, SLAB DEFECTS CONCRETE PRE-CAST FOUNDATION DEFECTS STONE FOUNDATION DEFECTS WOOD FOUNDATION DEFECTS FOUNDATION FAILURES by MOVEMENT TYPE BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS BUCKLED FOUNDATIONS due to INSULATION? BULGED vs. LEANING FOUNDATIONS COMBINATIONS OF FOUNDATION MOVEMENT HORIZONTAL MOVEMENT IN FOUNDATIONS SETTLEMENT IN FOUNDATIONS SHRINKAGE CRACKS in CONCRETE VERTICAL MOVEMENT IN FOUNDATIONS FOUNDATION INSPECTION METHODS FOUNDATION INSULATION OPTIONS FOUNDATION MATERIALS, Age, Types FOUNDATION REPAIR METHODS Bulged foundation Repairs Crack Repair Methods FOOTINGS EXPOSED, Repair Methods Horizontal Movement Repairs Seal Cracks by Polyurethane Foam Injection Seal Cracks in Concrete, How To Shrinkage Crack Repairs SLAB CRACK REPAIR Vertical Foundation Movement Repairs FOUNDATION SETTLEMENT FOUNDATION WATERPROOFING FRAMING DAMAGE, INSPECTION, REPAIR FRAMING DETAILS for BETTER INSULATION FRAMING DETAILS for DOUBLE WALL HOUSES FRAMING CONNECTORS & JOIST HANGERS FRAMING FASTENERS, NAILS, SCREWS, & HIDDEN FRAMING & SUBFLOOR for TILE FRAMING MATERIALS, Age, Types FRAMING METAL STUD PERFORMANCE FRAMING METHODS, Age, Types FRAMING SIZE & Spacing, Age, Types FRAMING TABLES, SPANS for DECKS FRENCH DRAINS FROST HEAVES, FOUNDATION, SLAB FRT PLYWOOD GALVANIC SCALE & METAL CORROSION GLUES ADHESIVES, EXTERIOR CONSTRUCTION GRADING & SITE WORK, EXTERIOR GUTTERS & DOWNSPOUTS HOUSE PARTS, DEFINITIONS HOUSEWRAP INSTALLATION DETAILS ICE DAM PREVENTION I-JOISTS, Wood Roof Floor INSULATION IDENTIFICATION GUIDE INSULATION INSPECTION & IMPROVEMENT LEAD POISONING HAZARDS GUIDE LEED GREEN BUILDING CERTIFICATION LOG HOME GUIDE LVL Laminated Veneer Lumber, Beams MOBILE HOMES, DOUBLEWIDES, TRAILERS MODULAR HOME CONSTRUCTION MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS NOISE / SOUND DIAGNOSIS & CURE OSB - Oriented Strand Board PANELIZED CONSTRUCTION PLASTER BULGES & PILLOWS PLASTER, LOOSE FALL HAZARDS PLYWOOD Roof, Wall, Floor Decks & Sheathing PORCH CONSTRUCTION & SCREENING PRE-CUT & KIT HOMES Preservative-Treated Framing Lumber RAILINGS, DECK & PORCH RAILINGS, STAIRWAY RETAINING WALL DESIGNS, TYPES, DAMAGE RETAINING WALL GUARD RAILINGS ROT, FUNGUS, TERMITES ROT, TIMBER FRAME SEARS KIT HOUSES SEPTIC & CESSPOOL SAFETY SHEATHING, FIBERBOARD SHEATHING, Gypsum board SHEATHING Homasote & Other Board SHEATHING, OSB SHEATHING, Plywood SHEATHING, FOIL FACED - VENTS SIDING, Sheathing Identification - Photo Guide SINKHOLES, WARNING SIGNS SINKING BUILDINGS SLAB CRACK EVALUATION SLAB CRACK REPAIR Splits in Structural Wood Beams STAIN & BIODETERIORATION AGENT CATALOG STAINS on BUILDINGS - QUICK GUIDE STAIN DIAGNOSIS on BUILDING EXTERIORS STAIRS, RAILINGS, LANDINGS, RAMPS STONE CLEANING METHODS STONE FOUNDATIONS STONE VENEER WALLS STRAW BALE CONSTRUCTION STRESS SKIN INSULATED PANELS STUCCO WAll FAILURES DUE TO WEATHER STUCCO WALL METHODS & INSTALLATION STUCCO OVER FOAM INSULATION STUCCO PAINT FAILURES SUMP PUMPS GUIDE SWEATING (CONDENSATION) on PIPES, TANKS TERMITES, ROT THERMAL EXPANSION of MATERIALS THERMAL MASS in BUILDINGS TRUSS UPLIFT, ROOF TRUSSES, Floor & Roof VAPOR BARRIERS & CONDENSATION in BUILDINGS VENTILATION in buildings VINYL Siding or PLASTIC Window ODORS in buildings VINYL CHLORIDE HEALTH INFO WATER BARRIERS, EXTERIOR BUILDING WATER ENTRY in BUILDINGS WIND ENERGY SYSTEMS WIND TURBINES & LIGHTNING WIND WASHING INSULATION At EAVES WINDOWS & DOORS, Age, Types WINTERIZE A BUILDING More Information |
This article explains types of damage to structural brick walls. We explain how to recognize, diagnose, & evaluate movement and cracks in brick walls and how to recognize brick wall bowing or bulging and cracking failures. Our page top photo shows water and frost damage to a building in Poughkeepsie, NY. The author's hand and fingers are "measuring" the air space between brick wythes. In this case bulging of the outer brick wythes have opened up the air space beyond its original design. The wall, or portions of it are un-stable and at serious risk of collapse. Types of foundation cracks, crack patterns, differences in the meaning of cracks in different foundation materials, site conditions, building history, and other evidence of building movement and damage are described to assist in recognizing foundation defects and to help the inspector separate cosmetic or low-risk conditions from those likely to be important and potentially costly to repair. Readers of the article series BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS should see these detailed articles on brick veneer walls and brick structural walls: BRICK STRUCTURAL WALL Loose Bulged and BRICK VENEER WALL Loose, Bulged and BRICK WALL DRAINAGE WEEP HOLES and also Brick Thermal Expansion Cracking. Also see this close companion article: FOUNDATION CRACK EVALUATION which discusses in detail the process of evaluating foundation cracks and signs of foundation damage by examining the crack size, shape, pattern, and location. © Copyright 2012 InspectAPedia.com, All Rights Reserved. Information Accuracy & Bias Pledge is at below-left. Use page top links to major topics or use links at the left of each page to navigate within topics and documents at this website. Green links show where you are in a document series or at this website. How to Identify Brick Veneer Walls versus Structural Brick WallsBrick Wall Type Definitions: Definition of structural brick walls
The wythes of brick are separated by an air space both for wall width dimensioning and for drainage (brick masonry cavity walls). We illustrate the properties of structural brick walls below at Structural Brick Wall Construction Details. Our photo (left) shows a water-damaged structural wall that was supporting an exterior porch. Thanks to an opening in this brick wall where bricks have fallen out due to water damage, you can see the air space between the wythes of brick. A bond course is also visible at the top course of bricks in the photo. This is a two-wythe structural brick wall that was supporting the porch. A "structural brick wall" is one that contributes to the support of the structure. Its multiple brick wythes give width and strength to the wall and are usually separated by an air space of about an inch to form a thicker, more dry wall. The wythes are tied or joined together at intervals by bond courses of brick laid across the wythes to connect them, or by steel fasteners or wire mesh or other means. Some structural masonry walls may be faced with brick (a brick veneer) that actually covers masonry block, stone, or even structural clay products. Referring to our photo above once again, other porch designs more often support the porch floor with piers or columns even if a brick wall was built to enclose the under-porch space. In those structures the brick wall may not be itself, contributing to the support of the structure and hence, not "structural". Definition of wythe or brick wythe
If you look at a brick masonry wall, one brick thickness of the wall is one wythe. A brick veneer wall constructed using full-dimension bricks will be one brick wythe in thickness (of the veneer). The total wall thickness will include the veneer wythe plus the thickness of the wall structure itself.
Structural Brick Wall Construction DetailsBond Courses Identify Structural Brick Walls - oftenBond courses tie together the multiple wythes of bricks that form a structural brick wall. You can spot a bond course by noticing the "ends" of bricks rather than the longer "stretcher" courses of brick. Those ends show (usually) that bricks were placed in the wall across the wythes of brick that comprise a structural brick wall. Photos of running bond courses and Flemish bond courses in structural brick walls:In our photo of a structural brick wall in a pre-1900 building in Hudson, NY (at left) you can see the horizontal running-bond courses - those "ends of bricks" seen in every fifth brick course. A Flemish bond brick wall pattern is shown in our photograph of a building on the Vassar College Campus (below-right).
Watch out: some structural brick walls may not show bond courses - the wythes of brick may have been tied together using steel wire or other fasteners. Fake Bond Courses - Faux-Bonds for AppearanceOur photos (Below) show two very different cases: at left we see what looks like it might be a structural brick wall - to the left of the chimney where we see "bond courses" in the brickwork. But wait! What's going on to the right of the chimney - there are no bond courses. Actually the wall at right was a brick veneer structure. Bricks were applied over a concrete block building wall. The owner-builder, a mason himself, used "faux" bond courses in the some of the walls of his home - for aesthetic reasons. By contrast, the brick walls in our collapsing brick structure (below right) included bond courses but could not tolerate a foundation collapse below nor frost damage from roof leaks from above. At BRICK FOUNDATIONS & WALLS we describe the collapse of the structural brick walled building shown at right.
Bulges: nderstanding Bulged or Bowed Structural Brick Walls: Collapse HazardsOur sketch (below left), courtesy of Carson Dunlop Associates, shows what happens when a brick structural wall becomes bulged. This is an extremely dangerous condition threatening sudden and catastrophic building collapse.
Damage: Examples of Water & Frost Damage to Brick WallsWater & Frost Damaged, Broken Bulging Brick WallsFrost damage to this brick wall occurred due to roof spillage that runs down the building wall of this Poughkeepsie New York building, a college gymnasium presently serving other uses. Water entering the space behind this facing wythe of bricks on this wall has led to continued frost-push and risk of collapse of at least the external portions of the wall.
Cracked Bricks in Strutural Building WallsThe brick cracking on the facade of this New York City high rise building appears traceable to leaks on balconies at the abutment of balcony to the building structure.
Also see Brick Thermal Expansion Cracking. Efflorescence Deposits on Brick Walls, Chimneys, Foundations
Spalling Brick Building WallsThe brick spalling shown on this Beacon NY church (below-left) was caused by roof spillage and rain splash-up against the foundation wall. The structural brick walls on the second building (below right) show frost spalling damage to the brick wall, especially around the building windows.
The brick surface loss (surface spalling and loss of the hard glazed finish) that occurs due to weathering, water and salt exposure (this is a retaining wall along the FDR expressway in Manhattan) leads to more severe frost damage that can include cracking and frost "pop out" of sections of individual bricks or entire brick portions of the structure. Our second photo of brick spalling damage (below right) shows that a portion of the wall has been rebuilt.
Water-Damaged Brick Foundation: Loose bricks
Lintels: Water, Frost, & Rust Damage at Steel Lintels over Windows or Doors in Brick Walls
But in the 1980's we examined a New York City high rise building that had very expensive damage to nearly all of its brick exterior walls. Spalling and cracking had rather suddenly occurred at almost every window and door in the building not long after a new building maintenance superintendent had been employed. The new maintenance supervisor had ordered that all window and door lintels should be caulked where he had observed a gap between the upper surface of the steel lintel and the brick above. Unfortunately that caulk job trapped water above the lintel where frost (short term rapid damage) caused severe brick spalling and cracking. On other brick buildings whose windows and doors use steel lintels (to support bricks that must span over the opening), rusting steel lintels can also cause severe brick cracking and spalling. The lifting power of exfoliating steel (flaking rust) is very great.
Masonry & Brownstone Window & Door Lintel Damage & Repair
Methods of Repair of Brick Walls on Buildings, Structural vs VeneerRepairs / Reinforcement of Structural Brick Walls: Connectors, Special FastenersThe drawing at left, from Carson Dunlop Associates, shows how a structural brick wall may be reinforced laterally using a steel tie rod. In our photo of an antique building in Hudson, NY (below right) those three "stars" shown above the three windows of the second floor are probably functioning as giant "washers" securing a front-to-back anchor that secures the front wall of this structure against bulging or movement, possibly also securing the floor structure inside as you can see in the sketch at left.
Repair of Brick Veneer WallsThe brick veneer wall shown in our photos (below) was rebuilt after a partial collapse. You can see some of the original veneer bricks on the ground.
Take a look at Thermal Expansion Cracking in Brick for more about brick veneers and types of veneer damage. Re-Pointing or Tuckpointing Brick Walls
Definition of Tuck Pointing:Tuck pointing is the filling in with fresh mortar of cut-out or defective mortar joints; in masonry this refers to the filling of joints in old (or damaged) masonry with fresh mortar. - Masonry Design Manual. Working with a long narrow trowel whose width and shape are chosen to match the existing mortar joints, the mason first cleans the existing mortar joints of loose mortar and debris, then pushes fresh mortar into the open joints. The mortar joint in the tuck pointed wall should tooled to match the existing mortar joints, and any mortar that has spilled onto the brick faces themselves should be cleaned before the new joints have fully hardened. Tuck pointing, which may be performed on both structural and veneer brick walls (as well as on other types of masonry) is performed for several reasons
The most common errors we see in brick wall tuckpointing include
Questions & Answers regarding this article. Ask a Question or Search InspectAPediaHTML Comment Box is loading comments...
Recommend / Share this Article
... Technical Reviewers & References
Use links just below or at the left of each page to navigate this document or to view other topics at this website. Green links show where you are in our document or website. STRUCTURAL INSPECTIONS & DEFECTS
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
|
